Tag: trading

Cisco said Tuesday it plans to buy semiconductor company Luxtera for $660 million in cash and assumed equity. It said Luxtera’s advanced chips will help Cisco meet business client demand for faster and high-performing network service. “That’s why today we announced our intent to acquire Luxtera, Inc., a privately-held semiconductor company that uses silicon photonics technology to build integrated optics capabilities for webscale and enterprise data centers, service provider market segments, and

Cisco said Tuesday it plans to buy semiconductor company Luxtera for $660 million in cash and assumed equity.

It said Luxtera’s advanced chips will help Cisco meet business client demand for faster and high-performing network service.

“Our customers are looking to address the unrelenting demand for more bandwidth driven by an emerging class of distributed cloud, mobility, and IoT applications. Simply put, the exponentially growing demands on the network require a new era of networking,” Vice President for Corporate Business Development, Rob Salvagno, said in a blog post.

The stock, one-fourth of the FANG trade, has tanked 23 percent since the beginning of October, tracking for its worst quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008. There could be more downside ahead for the stock, said Ari Wald, head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer. “We still think this stock works for the long term. Bullish long term, near term let it stabilize for longer.” “We have to separate Amazon the company from Amazon the stock,” Schlossberg said Monday on “Trading Nation.”

The stock, one-fourth of the FANG trade, has tanked 23 percent since the beginning of October, tracking for its worst quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008.

There could be more downside ahead for the stock, said Ari Wald, head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer.

“The stock needs additional time to stabilize but we think it is fine for the long term and probably one of the better-looking retail charts with the rest of that group really breaking down,” Wald said Monday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”

“What’s important to note here is that while the S&P 500 is breaking below its October low, Amazon is still above it, trying to make this higher low. That is a sign of relative strength that we like to see,” added Wald.

“For levels, $1,450 is one we’re watching. There’s a key retracement there,” said Wald. “We still think this stock works for the long term. Bullish long term, near term let it stabilize for longer.”

Amazon last broke below $1,450 on Nov. 20. It is a 6.6 percent decline from reaching it again.

The fundamentals case supports longer-term gains even if the stock’s performance suggest more pain could come, said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management.

“We have to separate Amazon the company from Amazon the stock,” Schlossberg said Monday on “Trading Nation.” “The stock went on a parabolic run and now it’s correcting properly.”

At its peak in September, Amazon shares had rallied 75 percent for the year. Since then, it has tumbled 24 percent and entered a bear market.

As a company, Amazon should continue to deliver, said Schlossberg.

“Amazon is just simply an unbelievable juggernaut of execution and I love it for the long term, but for the short term the stock is going to wallow so you probably just want to simply collect it by selling puts,” he said.

Selling a put is typically a bullish bet where the seller has an obligation to buy the stock at a predetermined price.

Stocks in Asia were mostly higher on Monday following a report suggesting further turmoil for the markets in 2019. The mainland Chinese markets were mixed by the end of their trading day after the country reported lower than expected economic datalast Friday. The Shanghai composite rose 0.16 percent to close at around 2,597.97 while the Shenzhen composite declined by 0.309 percent to end the trading day at about 1,323.31. One investor told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that the bargain hunting f

Stocks in Asia were mostly higher on Monday following a report suggesting further turmoil for the markets in 2019.

Investors were setting their sights on key policy meetings in the coming week — ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate meeting and as China on Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the country’s reforms under former leader Deng Xiaoping.

President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a major speech on Monday. It comes as Beijing’s trade war with Washington spurs government advisors and think tanks to urge for urgent reforms in Asia’s largest economy.

The mainland Chinese markets were mixed by the end of their trading day after the country reported lower than expected economic datalast Friday. The Shanghai composite rose 0.16 percent to close at around 2,597.97 while the Shenzhen composite declined by 0.309 percent to end the trading day at about 1,323.31.

One investor told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that the bargain hunting for Chinese shares has already started.

“Over the next few months, if there were to be any more weakness in the Chinese market, we think that there will be more investors coming in to buy,” said Khiem Do, head of Greater China investments at Barings. “The Chinese markets are actually quite cheap.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was slightly higher in its final hour of trade.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.62 percent to close at 21,506.88 while the Topix index saw gains of 0.13 percent to finish the trading day at 1,594.20. Shares of conglomerate Softbank recovered from earlier losses during the session to gain 0.52 percent ahead of the anticipated public listing of its mobile unit on Dec. 19.

South Korea’s Kospi closed fractionally higher at 2,071.09.

Australia’s ASX 200 saw gains of 1 percent to close at 5,658.3, with almost all sectors in positive territory.

“The ‘Santa Rally’ which had been hoped for has proven to be frustratingly elusive; and now markets are quite happy, if not desperate, for at least a dovish line to be thrown by the FOMC (and other global central banks),” said Mizuho Bank in a note on Monday, in reference to the U.S. central bank’s upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Dec. 18 and 19.

Online fashion group ASOS cut its annual sales growth and profit margin forecasts on Monday, becoming the latest British retailer to highlight a major downturn in November trading, sending its shares sharply lower. The stock was down 36 percent at 0829 GMT, as ASOS’s warning showed that even previously high-flying online-only clothing retailers were not immune to a growing crisis in the UK retail sector. Shares in direct rival Boohoo were down 9 percent, even though it said it was trading in lin

Online fashion group ASOS cut its annual sales growth and profit margin forecasts on Monday, becoming the latest British retailer to highlight a major downturn in November trading, sending its shares sharply lower.

The stock was down 36 percent at 0829 GMT, as ASOS’s warning showed that even previously high-flying online-only clothing retailers were not immune to a growing crisis in the UK retail sector.

Shares in other British clothing groups fell on a read across to ASOS’s update and fears of poor Christmas trading – Marks & Spencer was down 2.4 percent and Next was down 3.8 percent.

Shares in direct rival Boohoo were down 9 percent, even though it said it was trading in line with expectations.

“We knew the high street was struggling due to structural shifts, but ASOS slashing guidance suggests things are even worse in the run-up to Christmas than previously thought for the sector and the strife extends well beyond the high street,” said Markets.com chief market analyst Neil Wilson.

The gloom in the run-up to Christmas has been building. Last week sportswear retailer Sports Direct said November trading was “unbelievably bad”, while clothing group Bonmarche said it was faring much worse than during the financial crisis.

Johnson & Johnson lost $39.8 billion in market value Friday, suffering its worst trading day in more than 15 years, after Reuters said the company knew for decades that its baby powder contained asbestos — an allegation the company denied. J&J said the story was “one-sided, false and inflammatory” and an “absurd conspiracy theory,” according to a statement. Thousands of lawsuits have accused J&J’s talc-based baby powder of containing asbestos and causing ovarian and other types of cancers. Inves

Johnson & Johnson lost $39.8 billion in market value Friday, suffering its worst trading day in more than 15 years, after Reuters said the company knew for decades that its baby powder contained asbestos — an allegation the company denied.

J&J said the story was “one-sided, false and inflammatory” and an “absurd conspiracy theory,” according to a statement.

Thousands of lawsuits have accused J&J’s talc-based baby powder of containing asbestos and causing ovarian and other types of cancers. Investors have expressed some concern over the lawsuits, though J&J has successfully won a number of cases.

Friday’s report spooked the Street and drove J&J’s shares down 10.04 percent to close at $133 a share, losing about $39.8 billion of its market value. J&J now has a market capitalization of $356.7 billion. The shares recovered somewhat after tumbling as much as 11.9 percent in intraday trading.

Gold prices slipped on Thursday as the dollar steadied and equities climbed on signs of easing trade tensions between the United States and China, while palladium rose to a record high, trading at a premium to the bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,243.91 per ounce, as of 0415 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.1 percent lower at $1,249.3 per ounce. “Dollar hasn’t made much moves and that’s the real signpost for gold as they are still highly correlated.” Meanwhile, Asian shares advan

Gold prices slipped on Thursday as the dollar steadied and equities climbed on signs of easing trade tensions between the United States and China, while palladium rose to a record high, trading at a premium to the bullion.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,243.91 per ounce, as of 0415 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.1 percent lower at $1,249.3 per ounce.

“Market sentiment is neutral today… We’ve got a little more positive sentiment than we anticipated from U.S.-China trade tensions, which is weighing on the topside,” said Stephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA in Singapore.

“Dollar hasn’t made much moves and that’s the real signpost for gold as they are still highly correlated.”

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was steady at 97.069, after retreating from a near one-month high overnight.

Meanwhile, Asian shares advanced on signs of easing trade tensions between the world’s top two economies, and expectations that China will step up efforts soon to support its cooling economy.

China appears to be easing its high-tech industrial development push, dubbed “Made in China 2025,” which has long irked the United States, while it also made its first major U.S. soybean purchases in more than six months on Wednesday.

Investors seem more interested in equity at this point of time than in gold, said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

However, analysts see uncertainties around the Brexit deal and expectations of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dovish tone at its meeting next week, supporting the yellow metal.

“We are still gonna have a lot of noise coming out of Brexit and that should definitely keep gold bid for a while,” Innes said.

Markets are not expecting more than one rate hike from the U.S. central bank next year, after a likely interest rate increase at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Dec. 18-19.

Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,240-$1,253 per ounce, and an escape could suggest a direction, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Among other precious metals, spot palladium was down 0.2 percent at $1,258.90 per ounce, having touched a record high of $1,264.25 earlier in the session.

Palladium rose strongly on the news that China would be reducing tariffs on U.S. imported autos, raising hopes that the sector would be boosted by additional demand, analysts at ANZ said in a note.

Silver was up 0.1 percent at $14.75 per ounce, while platinum climbed 0.3 percent to $800.49.

Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday, with shares in Greater China leading gains after the positive momentum seen on Wall Street overnight. Greater China markets initially opened mixed, but staged a comeback to lead the rest of Asia. The Shanghai composite ended the trading session at 1.23 percent higher at 2,634.0491 points, while the Shenzhen composite closed 1.106 percent higher at 1,360.9222 points. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.99 percent to close at 21,816.19 points and the Topix index

Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday, with shares in Greater China leading gains after the positive momentum seen on Wall Street overnight.

“Calm has finally returned to markets,” analysts at Mizuho Bank wrote in a note. Trading in markets globally was volatile at the start of the week, but stabilized after news reports in recent days indicated an easing in tensions between the U.S. and China.

Greater China markets initially opened mixed, but staged a comeback to lead the rest of Asia. The Shanghai composite ended the trading session at 1.23 percent higher at 2,634.0491 points, while the Shenzhen composite closed 1.106 percent higher at 1,360.9222 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.18 percent to end at 26,495.67 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.99 percent to close at 21,816.19 points and the Topix index ended 0.62 percent higher at 1,616.65 points. Over in South Korea, the Kospi inched up 0.62 percent to 2,095.55 points at the close.

There were big moves in the Australia market. Shares of Hutchison Telecommunications plunged 21.43 percent at the close, while TPG Telecom fell by 16.67 percent. The two companies announced plans to merge in August this year, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Thursday released a statement expressing concerns about the proposal.

Skeptics say that is shot across the bow to all those tech unicorns floating out there waiting to go public in 2019, and that we may see lower valuations than the companies want. “There’s no doubt we need to have more rational pricing,” Kathleen Smith from Renaissance Capital told CNBC. It will also likely include data analytics platform Palantir, photo sharing app Pinterest, workplace messaging app Slack, and trading app Robinhood. So far, 189 IPOs have raised $45 billion, more than 20 percent

Given all the volatility, even pricing at the lows and closing in positive territory would have to be considered a successful first day of trading. Still the company has taken a haircut. By pricing at the low end of the range, instead of valuing the company in the $25 billion to $30 billion range as was talked about a few months ago, it came in closer to $21 billion.

Skeptics say that is shot across the bow to all those tech unicorns floating out there waiting to go public in 2019, and that we may see lower valuations than the companies want.

“There’s no doubt we need to have more rational pricing,” Kathleen Smith from Renaissance Capital told CNBC. The good news, she said, is the deals will likely get done, but the price will depend on market conditions.

The list of unicorns, the name given tech startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more, looking to go public in 2019 is long and getting longer and includes ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft, which have already filed their paperwork. It will also likely include data analytics platform Palantir, photo sharing app Pinterest, workplace messaging app Slack, and trading app Robinhood.

Despite the market turmoil, 2018 has been a good year for IPO deals. So far, 189 IPOs have raised $45 billion, more than 20 percent more than this time last year on both counts, according to Renaissance Capital. The billion-dollar unicorn club featured well-known names like Dropbox, DocuSign and Eventbrite.

What hasn’t worked is after-market pricing. The Renaissance Capital IPO ETF, a basket of the most recent 60 large IPOs, is down 10 percent for the year.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down around 0.6 percent during early afternoon deals, with almost all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Britain’s FTSE 100 index led the gains, shortly after reports emerged suggesting a crucial Brexit vote could be pulled. Europe’s chemicals stocks led the losses Monday afternoon, down over 1.5 percent. Autos stock — seen as a trade war proxy because of its export-heavy constituents — were also trading more than 1.5 percent lower amid elevated trade

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down around 0.6 percent during early afternoon deals, with almost all sectors and major bourses in negative territory.

Britain’s FTSE 100 index led the gains, shortly after reports emerged suggesting a crucial Brexit vote could be pulled.

Meanwhile, sterling slipped to one-and-a-half year lows on the news. The U.K. currency was trading at around 1.2665 against the dollar at around 12:05 p.m. London time.

Europe’s chemicals stocks led the losses Monday afternoon, down over 1.5 percent. Germany’s BASF SE was the worst sectoral performer, slipping nearly 5 percent after the company slashed its forecast for profits in 2018 late last week.

Autos stock — seen as a trade war proxy because of its export-heavy constituents — were also trading more than 1.5 percent lower amid elevated trade tensions. Fiat Chrysler slipped almost 3 percent Monday lunchtime.

Looking at individual stocks, Air France KLM rose toward the top of the European benchmark during early afternoon deals. It comes after the airline reported better-than-expected traffic figures for November, prompting shares to rise over 1.6 percent. However, the Paris-listed company is still down around 30 percent year-to-date.

Gordon, a senior portfolio manager on the firm’s technical asset allocation strategies team, blames uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-China trade war and Federal Reserve policy for the violent market swings. “The first and fundamental question: Is this a correction or is this the start of the bear market? While you can certainly see a path that could get us to a bear market, I think it’s more of a messy correction,” he told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. He believes the correction will span a

“The first and fundamental question: Is this a correction or is this the start of the bear market? While you can certainly see a path that could get us to a bear market, I think it’s more of a messy correction,” he told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “We could go a little deeper.”

Gordon’s comments came as the major indexes got hammered. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw their worst weekly performance since last March. The S&P closed back in correction territory, down more than 10 percent from its September 21 all-time high.

He believes the correction will span about two to four months, citing the end of the 90-day trade war ceasefire between the U.S. and China as an important marker.

Trade has been Gordon’s major risk factor for U.S. stocks for much of the year. In late June on “Trading Nation,” he placed the U.S.-China tariff threat as a major economic risk in the second half of 2018. And, that issue has played a big role in the painful pullback.

“You could have full on global growth slowing as a result of a complete breakdown in the trade and tariff negotiations,” he said, even though it’s not his base case.